Parking
Where the cars sleep
A car collection in a city is mostly a parking problem. This is how we solve it: one underground garage, a top deck, a few friends' driveways, and rules about batteries.
The underground
Twenty spots, one building
The building's underground turned into an enthusiast garage by accident. On any given night it holds a Jaguar, three Mercedes, a Torino, a Mustang, a Ford RS, a Hummer, two Subarus, a Type R, a Midget and a Pontiac. Nobody planned it. Everybody knows whose is whose.
Upper level takes the daily drivers. The lower level is for things that leak.
Gallery
Concrete, sodium light, good cars
Rules of the lot
Keeping a parked car alive
Learned the hard way across a Volvo on a driveway for eight years, a panel van on a charity's lot, and a Civic somebody lived in.
Battery tender or disconnect
Anything sitting more than three weeks gets a tender. Anything sitting all winter gets the negative terminal pulled. A dead battery is how a project becomes a parts car.
Full tank, stabilizer in
Half a tank breathes moisture. Fill it, dose it, run it ten minutes so the stabilizer reaches the injectors. Carburetted cars: drain the bowl or accept the spring cleaning.
Tires up, weight off
Ten psi over the door sticker to fight flat spots. Six months or more, put it on stands. Leaf-sprung trucks don't care. Anything on coilovers does.
Start it or don't
Starting a car for five minutes every week is worse than leaving it alone. Either drive it up to temperature or let it sleep until spring.
Rodents are real
Steel wool in the tailpipe, dryer sheets in the cabin, hood up if you can. A mouse ate the wiring on a car we will not name.
Paperwork travels with the car
Ownership, insurance slip and a copy of the last safety in a sleeve in the glovebox. When the tow truck comes at 7 am, you won't be looking for a folder.
Community
Got a car, a road, or a rusty project? You're in.
JCru Moto is a crew of car people. Send us your builds, your favourite stretch of tarmac, or the thing in your garage that almost runs.